Gov. Kasich Has Long Called For Takeover Of State Education Offices

Republican lawmakers are pushing a bill that would overhaul Ohio’s education system in order to give most of the control over to the governor’s office. This is something Gov. John Kasich has wanted for a while now.

Listen

Listening...

/

0:59

House Republicans say their plan to wrap together the departments of education, higher education, and the workforce transformation office would streamline education for career-readiness.

But it also hands most of the education policymaking power over to the governor, something Kasich alluded to just a few weeks ago.

“What I really want is I want to be able to run the department of education,” he said at the Associated Press Legislative Preview forum.

The new Ohio Department of Learning and Achievement would be led by a director who is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate.

Kasich said the state school board wields a lot of power, yet its members are generally unknown to voters.

“They’re running education policy and I’m the governor and I can’t tell them what to do, it’s nuts!” Kasich said.

Democrats are blasting the plan as taking power away from an elected board. Supporters, however, say this makes the governor more accountable.

Related Content

Ohio House Republicans have rolled out a plan that would bring big changes for the state's Department of Education and the Board of Education. Supporters say it will bolster the connection between education and career-readiness, while Democrats say it would create a less-responsive state government.

It was the heavyweight court battle that’s been brewing for more than a year.

Attorneys for the now-closed Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow and the Ohio Department of Education traded jabs before the Ohio Supreme Court over how the state should fund schools and if that funding should be tied to just enrollment or student participation.

The Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday considers what could be the final appeal by the Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow.

ECOT closed last month because of financial trouble related to having to repay tens of millions of dollars in funding it never should have received. The affects on tax payers have gotten most of the attention, but former ECOT teachers and students say they're the real victims.

WOSU Public Media | 2400 Olentangy River Road | Columbus, OH 43210 | 614.292.9678 | A service of The Ohio State University